


Amen

by CaffeinatedFlumadiddle



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Bittersweet Ending, Family Feels, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Humor, Percy's ADHD gets his prayers a little off-track sometimes, Post-Tartatus PTSD, Trauma, Warnings for the End:, but Poseidon doesn't really mind all that much, idk why this fandom brings out the family stuff in me, nothing too graphic though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-12 19:40:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 18,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29389965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaffeinatedFlumadiddle/pseuds/CaffeinatedFlumadiddle
Summary: Percy knows he rambles quite a bit in his prayers to Poseidon, but at least he is safe in the knowledge that Poseidon is too busy of a god to ever really listen… right?Meanwhile, Poseidon is trying to be a responsible god, but Sally Jackson keeps praying to him about their son (aka I wrote another chapter because I’m weak).
Relationships: Percy Jackson & Poseidon, Sally Jackson & Poseidon (Percy Jackson), Sally Jackson/Poseidon (Percy Jackson)
Comments: 64
Kudos: 624





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Based off of this random[ tumblr post I made.](https://caffeinatedflumadiddlebutpjo.tumblr.com/post/641964201525575680/i-feel-like-percy-rambles-during-his-prayers-to)

So… Percy’s father was Poseidon. Interesting. Cool. That was, uh, neat?

In all honesty, he didn’t know what to make of any of it. Chiron said it would be a good idea to pray to him – to say thanks for claiming him. Percy really wasn’t sure how he felt about that, but considering he was an illegal child of potential mass destruction… he would give it a whirl.

“So,” he said, settling down in his cabin. He had given an offering at dinner but hadn’t actually prayed before. As he folded his hands together - he hoped that was right. “In retrospect, there were some clues that I was your kid,” he decided. “Blowing up the bathrooms doesn’t particularly seem like an Apollo or Dionysus thing-” he began and then winced when the sky rumbled. “Right. No names. Since they have… power or something,” he said and looked around the cabin. “Um, thanks for claiming me. Based on the Hermes cabin, you didn’t have to do that,” he said, trying not to sound as bitter as he felt. “Am I doing this right? Are you listening?” He asked and then wrinkled his nose. The cabin remained eerily silent.

“Because I actually have some questions now that we’re here. Maybe I shouldn’t be asking them to you, though… I’m sure you’re very busy doing, uh, godly stuff. Like… running… Atlantis? We learned about Atlantis in class actually,” he said, remembering Mr. Brunner (aka Chiron) talking about it on some dreary Tuesday at Yancy Academy. “I’m a little confused about it. So, these people lost a war and were dropped into the ocean as punishment by the gods? If that’s the real story, then why does everyone seem to think that’s where people _live_? That doesn't make sense at all. Maybe Plato is a liar. His name sounds like Play-Doh, so how reliable can he really be? Like, in stories in stuff, they talk about Atlantis as if that’s where mermaids and stuff are, but if you drowned them because they’re annoying, why would that be true? It's nonsense. You don't drown people you like. That's just common sense." He said, trying his best to articulate his thought process. 

This was quickly abandoned as his mind went down the path of hyperfixation. At some point, he just began ranting about all his Atlantis-related thoughts. It was only when there was a knock on his door that he realized a good few hours had passed.

“Oh – shoot,” he muttered. “I hope I wasn’t still praying during all of that. Uh, sorry, father?” He frowned at the roof as he scrambled out of bed. “If you heard all that… my bad,” he decided. Not that he was too worried. It didn’t _feel_ like Poseidon was listening. Just an empty room and Percy rambling. No different than any other day, really.

Still, he tried to keep up with the praying thing even if he was really… really… _really_ bad at it.

 _Hi again,_ he thought, staring up at the stars above them as he clasped his hands together. _Um, it’s me. Your son. Percy...Jackson. Just wanted to let you know we’re almost to the Underworld to get Zeus’ bolt. So… yeah. That’s it,_ he said, and his eyes flicked to where Annabeth and Grover were peacefully sleeping. He thought back to Medusa. How… weird she had been about his eyes. Percy wrinkled his nose. He didn’t want to side against his dad, but… why _did_ he take his girlfriend to Athena’s temple. A temple? Really? Kind of gross, honestly. Then again, where were the ancient Greek hot spots? Percy was twelve, so he wasn’t sure what qualified as a good make-out location. It seemed to him that the beach was an obvious place for the God of the Seas to go. Were there lots of people there or something? Maybe he did it on purpose to make Athena mad… if so, that was kind of sucky of him. He got Medusa in trouble. Not cool. He even –

Percy glanced back down at his hands and jumped. They were still folded together. Did that mean he was technically still praying? Had Poseidon heard all of that? Oh, no… He winced and placed his hands down by his side.

That was, uh, unfortunate. He would try not to make a habit of that. Poseidon might already hate him anyways for the whole Medusa head in a box thing. Shaking his head, Percy leaned over to wake Grover up for his turn to sleep. Yeah. He would keep the praying rambling to a minimum in the future for sure.

* * *

_…just seems to me like a bad idea,_ Percy’s voice echoed. Poseidon had to fight not to react too obviously as eyes all waited patiently on him. _Also, what’s the deal with those penguins? Whose idea was that? Hermes? It seems like Hermes’ idea…_ He decided. Poseidon nodded to himself.

“My son prays to me,” he told the others and there was a murmur of approval. “He is indeed in my domain.”

Ares growled.

“It is _my_ daughter’s quest! Why is your brat sneaking off to steal her glory?” He demanded and Poseidon’s eyes flashed. It didn’t take much to quell Ares these days. While his hatred for his son was poignant, it was also a subtle reminder that if Perseus could defeat him… well, he better not make enemies with Poseidon himself.

“He is more concerned with the satyr it appears,” Poseidon said. Perseus’ voice was still rambling in the background – now asking about peanut butter. He had missed the leap where they went from penguins to peanut butter, but that tended to happen if you weren’t following along his train of thought closely.

“It is not his-” Ares repeated, but Zeus’ rumbling silenced them all.

“I don’t care,” he said through gritted teeth. “Just get the damn fleece on my daughter’s tree. Whether it be Poseidon’s boy or your girl. If the tree dies then all will taste my fury,” he warned sharply. Poseidon resisted the urge to sigh. Zeus wasn’t particularly… passionate towards his children, but he seemed to have developed a sort of soft spot for this one. A small one, perhaps.

 _…and turnips don’t even taste that good,_ Perseus continued in the back of his mind. Poseidon swallowed any amusement the comment drew out of him and forced himself to simply nod to his brother’s words. Ares glowered at him darkly. _Thanks to Tantalus being a bitch,_ Percy’s thoughts interrupted and Poseidon choked.

“Lord Poseidon?”

“Apologies, nephew,” he said quickly and Hermes raised an eyebrow at him. Right. He needed to pay attention before Perseus’ thoughts ended up revealed and Zeus killed him out of… whatever emotional breakdown he was going through right now.

“I don’t think Chiron is responsible for the girl’s tree father,” Artemis piped in calmly, bringing the discussion back on track. “He has trained many heroes for years now without betrayal. Why would he take this path?”

“I don’t want him near _my_ children if he risks being a traitor-” Apollo frowned at her. “No offense, sister, but you have no children to understand this concern.”

“No offense, brother, but you have no intelligence to understand this conversation,” Artemis replied back flatly and Apollo gasped. Poseidon inwardly sighed as the squabbling began with quips morphing into full-blown arguments.

“-Tantalus though? Why did the elders choose to elect _Tantalus-”_

“Dionysus is more than capable-”

“You want me entrust my children to _Dionysus?”_

“Do you even know the names of your kids, Demeter?”

 _…Annabeth would know,_ Perseus was musing...probably about something entirely different now. Was it penguins again? He hadn't been paying attention. Poseidon shook his head. This child. Admittedly, some of his children had similar problems with keeping their prayers focused in the past, but never to this extent – or maybe it had just been that long since he had a demigod child. _Huh. So, Annabeth said she was born of Athena’s thoughts. Does that mean she just, like, appeared as a baby? Athena wouldn’t have been pregnant with her… does she even have a belly button?_

Poseidon blinked. He had not been anticipating this. Granted, he rarely anticipated any of Perseus’ thoughts, but this one really stumped him. He had never given Athena – or anything involving her – much thought. She wasn’t typically worth his time.

 _Am I still praying? Shi- no wonder you hate me,_ Percy grumbled and Poseidon rolled his eyes. Not _that_ again. He wasn’t sure where the subtle attitude had come from, but it had been pretty prevalent in most of his prayers recently. He hadn’t outright said it, but Poseidon got the feeling it involved Tyson. Hopefully it passed. Mortals developed much faster than gods at least… and Perseus seemed pretty high in emotional intelligence. Probably his mother’s doing.

“Dismissed.” Zeus announced and his focused snapped back to the council. Oh. It was over. Finally. Poseidon almost felt bad for his brother as he glared bitterly at the ground… almost. Instead he shook his head and got up with every intention of returning to Atlantis. At least there he could watch over his child a bit more carefully. He paused.

“…Athena?” He suddenly asked, turning around as the others popped out. The goddess turned to him, meeting his eyes with that obnoxious air of pride and challenge that just mixed so badly with… well, his own pride, admittedly.

“Lord Poseidon?” She asked. Poseidon turned to face her fully. Perseus’ ridiculous question was stuck in his head… part of him really wanted to ask it. If for no other reason than to see her reaction. “Are you going to accuse my daughter of beguiling Perseus into leaving camp somehow?”

Beguiling. She was so _pretentious._

“No, I believe it was my son who did the beguiling,” Poseidon said and inwardly snickered when her eyes narrowed. “I only hope you lead the girl as well as you led Odysseus all those years ago,” he said sweetly and Athena’s lips quirked upwards at the reminder of her favorite little mortal tyrant.

“Oh, don’t worry, my lord,” she said and bowed her head. “You can be certain of it.”

“The girl…” Poseidon added casually and Athena lifted a brow. “How _does_ that work? I do hope nobody has to chop your head open like they did with my brother.” He said. Athena’s expression soured. “Are there not some side effects to such a creation?”

Based on the look he was receiving… Athena was not giving any answers on the belly button issue.

“My daughter is right to pray for your boy,” Athena growled. “If he is as _hopeless_ as you.”

Poseidon wasn’t really thrilled with the idea the Athena girl was praying to her mother _for_ Perseus, but sure. His thoughts were quickly taken aback weeks later upon updating himself on Perseus’ quest only to learn his son had outright _betrayed_ him. Athena‘s work probably.

_So… I can explain…_

No. There was _no_ explanation for this.

_Annabeth said you had beef with Odysseus for blinding Polyphemus and, look, I mean… I get it. He’s your kid and I can imagine you probably aren’t thrilled I pulled the same ‘nobody’ business that Odysseus did._

His own son! Athena was going to mock him for _years_ over this. Swimming into the throne room of Atlantis he grabbed his trident, having half a mind to blow something up when Perseus’ voice recaptured his attention.

_But to be perfectly clear… It was Annabeth’s idea and she started it and I just went along with it._

…alright that was fair.

_And even though I would love to see Poly at a family reunion, he didn’t exactly welcome me with brotherly arms… which reminds me, actually. I’m not convinced you hear these, but on the off chance you do then I’m sorry I’ve been acting like a bit of a brat. I’ve apologized to Tyson already, but… yeah. I’m sure – Chiron! I should welcome him back as counselor and maybe check on Thalia’s tree. Why was she turned into a pine tree, specifically? Is it like… based on New York’s flora or does Zeus really like pine trees?_

Poseidon sighed and lowered his trident. He got the feeling it would be some time before Percy remembered he was praying. Still, if Zeus wouldn’t let them be near their children… he supposed this wasn’t the worst thing in the world.

“My lord?”

Poseidon turned to find Amphitrite watching him curiously. Ah. He gave her a warm smile.

“You seem…” his wife began, eyes flicking between Poseidon and the trident in his hand. “In thought,” she told him slowly. “May I be of some assistance?” She asked him. Poseidon opened his mouth – with truly every intention of telling her not to worry only to come back with:

“Why do you think Zeus turned his daughter into a pine tree?”

Amphitrite blinked.

“I – you…? I was under the impression the girl was dying, my lord-”

“No, no, I mean… why a pine tree _specifically?”_ He asked, already regretting the words. It was kind of a good question though. His wife didn’t seem to be on the same page though. She stared at him for a few moments before nodding.

“I, uh, would encourage you to ask him yourself, husband…” she said and then raised an index finger. “Might I ask what brought on this line of thinking?”

Oh. Poseidon sighed.

“Just… a very persistent voice in the back of my head.”

* * *

Annabeth.

Percy found it was really the only clear thought on his mind as he curled up in his sleeping back, trying desperately to ignore the world crumbling around him. Not literally (this time) but he felt his was an apt description with Bianca di Angelo dead, Zoe and Thalia’s fighting, Annabeth missing, Artemis kidnapped… it was just… a lot. He missed Annabeth.

He rolled over again and let his eyes fall onto the space beside him. Thalia was asleep, face not in a scowl for once as she shifted ever so slightly with her fingers twitching so that they lightly crackled. Percy narrowed his eyes.

 _Hi, dad,_ he started and paused. Well… it wasn’t like Poseidon _actually_ listened. Percy had decided long ago that if this prayer thing worked it was only in moments of desperation or life-or-death situations… otherwise he would have annoyed Poseidon to the point of being smited long ago.

With that in mind, he continued.

 _I used to think it was weird you didn’t get along with Zeus. I always wanted siblings and figured if I had any we would be friends… but then I met Thalia. And if I’m anything like you and she’s anything like Zeus… I think I get it,_ he said flatly, interlacing his fingers together. _It isn’t that I don’t like her! If she was in trouble I would definitely help. It’s just… she is super annoying sometimes. And so loud. And dramatic. And always needs to be right or prove she’s right somehow. I know I get roped into competing with her, but by gods can she be smug,_ he said and then bit his lip. _Maybe I’m not completely guiltless… she is fun to annoy. It’s easy to do too. Look at her! She’s a punk-rock tree. I have plenty of material to work with,_ he grinned. Thalia’s brows furrowed – as if in her dream she sensed Percy was making fun of her.

 _Do gods really even have concepts of siblings? Because, no offense, but… I mean, Hera is supposed to be your sister, right? And Zeus married her,_ Percy reasoned out in his mind. _I guess the whole argument is that gods don’t have DNA, but there’s got to be some technicalities to that, right? DNA isn’t the only reason dating your sister is weird. Wait. Is Amphitrite related to you? Oh… no. That’s a thought. I need to read more myths, but sometimes they creep me out now that I knew they’re true…_

Percy considered this for a solid hour – though somewhere along the way he had jumped away from Greek myths and navigated towards dog shows in Romania to his kindergarten teacher wearing a green shirt that one time. It was only when he was falling asleep that he remembered his fingers were still very much in praying position and his mind had forgotten that he was meant to be talking to Poseidon at all.

…yeah. Poseidon being unable to hear him was probably for the best.

Still, Percy felt a little regretful as he made his way back home at the end of the summer. There were things he wished he could say to his father that were easier said in a prayer than to his face… or in a council room full of many other gods.

 _Thank you for voting not to kill me,_ he went with as he rested his head against the cool glass of the taxi. _Not thrilled to be next-in-line for the prophecy, but… I suppose not being dead is good too,_ he sighed. That was probably where he should have ended it. ‘Should’ being the key word. Unfortunately, he saw a poster for a movie trailer and his mind was gone – twirling and diving and flipping in whatever direction it so chose. Ridiculous.

_…and that’s why I don’t know how to feel about the moon landing. Was Artemis not pissed that humans landed on the moon? That’s, like, her domain, right? I don’t know. I mean, personally, I wouldn’t care, but I’m not a god so-_

Percy looked down at his hands still folded in prayer.

Every goddamn time.

* * *

Ogygia. Perseus was on _Ogygia_. Poseidon wasn’t sure how he felt about this. At all.

On one hand, he was safe there. He could live an immortal life. Maybe Poseidon could even visit him. It wasn’t a bad idea. Perhaps Hades’ boy could lead them through this war after all. Poseidon wouldn’t necessarily mind it. Of all his children… Perseus might be the one he favored the most. Him having a happy ending would be pleasing. Besides, Atlas’ girl was better than _Athena’s_ whelp.

On the other hand, Poseidon knew it was futile. Despite their limited interactions, he did know his son fairly well. He wouldn’t be able to live the decision to stay with Calypso. There would be too much guilt. Even now, Poseidon could hear it in his voice.

 _Sorry that I blew up a mountain,_ he sighed and Poseidon glanced at Mount Helen where smoke was still billowing out. He was suddenly reminded why Zeus had banned their children in the first place… too powerful. Sighing, he waved his hand, disappearing back into the depths of Atlantis. He could still hear Percy’s voice talking about – wait. What was he talking about?

_That’s why three is my least favorite number. I’m going with four as my favorite. I wonder what Calypso’s favorite number is – shoot, I need to be figuring out how to get out of here. Why am I still praying? Okay, sorry. One more thing and I’ll go. If you can send me a sign on if I should stay or go… I could really use a second opinion._

Poseidon shook his head. Maybe he would send Hephaestus for guidance, but… he couldn’t really make this decision for him…as much as he would like to. Silently, he swam towards where Triton and Amphitrite were pouring over war plans – Triton mapping out various strategies as Amphitrite consulted a book. Poseidon grimaced. He should be focused on this and not leaving his family to do all the hard word…

 _…don’t quite get how chess works,_ Perseus declared. Poseidon laughed. They were on chess now? It seemed like he forgot about his ‘one more thing and I’ll go’ statement he made five minutes ago. _Why does the horse make the L-shape move? I bet Annabeth would teach me… I hope she’s okay…_

“Father?” Triton’s voice asked, drawing him away from Perseus’ voice. He was staring at him with a small scowl – possibly knowing where Poseidon’s mind was at. “You look deep in thought,” he said and Poseidon smiled.

“Ah, yes. Just considering chess,” he said and from her spot across from him, Amphitrite raised an eyebrow. “Do either you know why the knight moves in an L-shape?” He asked. Triton made a face before going back to his plans. Amphitrite, on the other hand, barely even blinked.

“It is supposed to control the center of the board,” she told him and flipped a page of her book. “And it makes it easier to jump over other pieces and create a more interesting game,” she told him and flicked her eyes up. “Another one of your demigod’s ridiculous questions?” She asked coolly. Poseidon shrugged. “How he can focus on this war is a concern…”

“He has focus when needed!” Poseidon defended and then hesitantly checked in on Perseus’ prayer.

_…so, my question is… why llamas? And does that imply that the colonists slept with the llamas?_

“He… sometimes has focus when needed,” Poseidon rectified and Amphitrite rolled her eyes. Triton muttered something under his breath. “Llamas?” Poseidon grumbled to himself. He wondered if Hades or Zeus got these kind of prayers with their children. He made a note to ask next time he saw one of them.

“…prayers?” Zeus has frowned when he asked a few days later. “My daughter gives me the same prayer every day. She rarely strays from her script,” he said, sounding oddly proud of that fact. Poseidon figured that it _was_ smart of the girl. She probably had trouble focusing as Perseus did. Making sure she said the same thing every single time was a good solution.

“What about your boy? The Roman one?” Poseidon pressed and watched as his brother’s form flickered to Jupiter’s for a moment. Zeus frowned at him.

“Why do you ask me such things?” He asked suspiciously. “Are you and your sea-brat conspiring on something?” He asked. Poseidon thought back to Percy’s most recent prayer. This time it had started out as a prayer to get through the labyrinth safely and ended up with him trying to understand just _why_ Athena’s girl and this mortal could not get along. Poseidon shook his head.

“I can assure you he has more pressing matters then conspiratory conversations with me,” he said, thinking of Percy’s utter confusion on why this Annabeth was being so volatile with his new friend. Zeus’ eyes narrowed.

“Does he now? I suppose he must focus on the war.”

Poseidon almost laughed in his face. Ah, yes. The war. He had half a mind to tease Perseus about the whole thing the next time they met in person… however, in the end, he found himself unable to do so as he left the household on Perseus’ birthday. There was every chance that his time remaining with his son was limited and he didn’t want to potentially spoil it by Perseus realizing just how much Poseidon heard and censoring himself. He rather liked his son’s baffling and very disconnected thoughts. Even if they were sometimes blasphemous… like now, for example.

 _You should be ashamed of yourself,_ the words said flatly, but Poseidon could still hear the amusement either way. _That was petty for a god. Poor Paul is nice. He didn’t deserve that_.

Oh, as if he had room to talk. Poseidon knew via Percy’s previous prayers that he had messed with the man himself. Still, he supposed there was a difference in a teenager hazing his potential stepfather and a thousand-year-old powerful god hassling his ex-lover’s boyfriend. The man did seem like an acceptable match for Sally.

There was really no acceptable mortal for Sally Jackson, but this Paul fellow might do well enough if she was so inclined.

 _Thank you for visiting. Even if it was a little depressing,_ Percy’s voice continued. _I hope I can – oh my gods._

Poseidon paused. Did he need to go back? Was something wrong? Zeus wouldn’t dare…

_I think I like Annabeth… Like, in a more than friends way._

This child might just kill Poseidon and Kronos both.

* * *

He was praying again. With the war on the horizon, Percy found himself doing it more and more. He still had that awful habit of forgetting that he was even talking to his father, but… well, nothing bad had happened yet, right? At least that was his justification as he lazily walked down Montauk’s beach with his hands folded in front of him. He was sure he looked ridiculous, but whatever. It was nice.

“I don’t really know why I pray to you so much,” Percy mused out loud as he stared off thoughtfully into the crashing waves. “I know you can’t hear me – you would have said something by now if you could. I think I just like having someone to vent to… it’s nice,” he considered and then smiled to himself a little. “I suppose I have Paul now. He’s always offering to talk to me about stuff if I don’t want to go to my mom… maybe I’ll take him up on it. It would be nice to talk and have someone respond to me,” he laughed.

A loud crack of thunder went through the air. Percy frowned. His first thought was Zeus, but this was quickly rectified when he saw the sea churn angrily – waves lashing out. They didn’t touch Percy at all, but he could see a few people further down the beach scatter at the sudden change.

“What just pissed you off?” He murmured. Well, his father _was_ fighting titans at the moment. He supposed there were lots of reasons to be mad. He considered checking it out, but the sea was beginning to settle again so he shrugged and kept onwards. “Well, that is assuming I survive,” he continued his previous line of thought. At this, the sea went quiet once more. Strange. “What would even happen if I did? Like… what would my life be?” He frowned.

It was a thought that kept his mind occupied for another hour until he finally remembered to finish the prayer and go home. It ended up being one of his last prayers until the end of the war… which, well, Percy wasn’t entirely sure how his father was feeling about him at the moment.

On one hand, he had defeated Kronos and ended a war… on the other hand, he had sat on his dad’s throne and the god did _not_ seem happy about that. Annabeth looked at him like he was crazy when he asked her opinion on it, but that hadn’t made the position any clearer.

The good news is his dad apparently held no ill will after meeting him on the beach. Though he did leave him with some, uh, questions.

 _…I can’t tell if you were joking about your other kids,_ he started out slowly. _Do I have siblings?_

Percy couldn't decide if the idea excited or horrified him. On one hand, he always wanted siblings. Then he thought back to Thalia and reconsidered. He loved her to death, but the amount of _arguing_ that would entail was too exhausting to even think about post-war. Percy fell back on the sand and smiled to himself. He wouldn't mind really little siblings for sure. Kids were fun. Also, there was a sort of innocence to them that was refreshing. Maybe his dad had some toddlers running around somewhere that he could babysit. Where did that term come from anyways? Babysit... who was even sitting on babies? Was it translated from another language or something? Weird.

Actually, languages were weird. Annabeth told him there was apparently only one language until Hermes decided to bring 'diversity of speech' to them, which, what? Bring it from where? Why? Hermes probably wasn't in the mood to answer questions post-Luke, but Percy had some complaints. English was fine, but if they kept that Greek being the only language thing then maybe he would be passing high school with a little more ease. Was he just bored? Did he want to make the world harder? Ugh.

If Percy had ultimate power like that... what he do when he was bored? He had an opportunity to find out, admittedly. Immortality had been right at the ends of his fingertips. Percy grimaced. Then there might be myths about _him_ doing stupid stuff. Definitely had made the right call.

The water touched his toes, regaining his attention. Percy jumped. Oh. He should go. Annabeth was waiting for him. Unhooking his hands, he grabbed Riptide and twirled it in his fingers, eyes flitting over the water with a small smile.

Paul was great... but sometimes he liked one-sided conversation with his dad too.

* * *

The boy at the altar was _not_ his son.

Or was he? He couldn’t say. Couldn’t… couldn’t… Neptune shook his head. He didn’t know this child even if he was vaguely familiar. And yet he called him father. And yet his symbol sat on his forearm, glaring back as the voice bubbled to the surface. His mind flickered.

Percy.

That was _not_ his son. Poseidon was sure of that. He could see a vague outline of him – hear his voice, but… the prayer was short and… was it even to him? He couldn’t tell. This wasn’t his Perseus though. His Percy wasn’t Roman so why would he call out to Neptune? He was –

 _Greek_ , a voice hissed and Neptune grimaced. The boy was a Greek. Not his child. Not-

 _Hera._ What has she done? What was she doing? Poseidon tried to listen desperately, but Percy didn’t fill in any blanks. Why? Why wasn’t he talking? He always talked-

_Tell me who I am, father._

Oh, the irony. Neptune didn’t even know he was at the moment. The world spun, flickering back and forth as he tried to grip onto something to stop the movement. Time was going by, but the pain seemed to pause it altogether. He was… worried. For what? He had no idea it wasn’t like he had any children to fret over. He –

_Hey, dad… it’s me._

Who? What an obnoxious way to start. ‘Me’ didn’t give any indication on – _Perseus,_ a voice in the back of his mind supplied and the world flipped again.

_We’re coming to help sort you guys out. I guess your Roman and Greek forms have been messing you up. It’s weird to think of you guys being like… sick, but that seems like the best equivalent? Well, we’ll get you to find your inner peace or whatever you need to fight the giants. I don’t know if you heard or not, but we’re fighting giants. It is not ideal and I thought we had a non-verbal agreement I would retire after titans, but it feels like you and Delphi put me up for a promotion. Not cool._

Scandal! This was a scandal and Neptune would not stand for being spoken to in such a way! He would destroy this boy where he stood. He would-

_Leo put granite countertops on a ship…? Why did he do that? Why is it called granite anyways? I bet Annabeth would know. She might still be mad at me though… No, she said she wasn’t. She wasn’t actually mad in the first place, I don’t know why I am pretending like she was. Well, she was mad. Just not at me. Probably? I know she was definitely scared. I would be scared if she just went missing out of the blue for no reason…_

Strangely enough, the words stopped the spinning – even if just for a moment. It was like both Poseidon and Neptune paused in their quest for control to try and follow the train of thought. Annabeth… Annabeth… who was that?

Minerva’s girl, right? No, Athena. Damn Athena. Why was he consorting with Athena’s spawn? A child of his shouldn’t – no, no. Dating. Why would she be mad if they were dating? Disappeared? He went back forth trying to piece it all together when he dialed back in to see what other information the child had to offer.

_…I wonder who even invented envelopes. Wait. Am I still praying? Damnit, I said I would stop doing this-_

If anything could unite Neptune and Poseidon… it would be figuring out this enigma of a boy.

* * *

The world was… hollow.

Percy rolled over, fingers latching on the sheets beside him. His mind briefly registered the soft material turning silky in his fingers, but it quickly disappeared into a feeling of pressure. Maybe he should be concerned with his body’s sudden inability to interpret the world, but he was just… too tired to care.

“Bad day?” Annabeth’s voice asked him quietly. Percy didn’t answer. Couldn’t. A hand touched his cheek and his eyes flickered to her. Annabeth. He moved in closer, chest stuttering with relief. She was here. She understood. They may have left Tartarus a few months ago, but the… the _after affects_ hadn’t lessened. Chiron had told them they would fade in time, but Percy didn’t believe him.

Gods, Nico had done that alone. Guilt swirled in his stomach – the only thing he could properly feel as he focused on breathing. Guilt. Guilt and whispers of things he should have done differently. Mistakes - _so_ _many_ mistakes, so many issues, he could have saved them, he should have saved them-

If Annabeth hadn’t been there then he would have died Tartarus. He was certain of it.

There was maybe… maybe a small part of him… that held an unfair stab of anger with her over it.

More guilt. What was wrong of him? Even his own cotton-filled mind avoided the true implications of that thought alone. Besides, on other days he was almost happy. He thought of his mom and Paul and – hey, he was going to get a brother or sister. That was cool. His friends were okay.

 _For now,_ a voice whispered and he rolled away.

“Tired,” he finally answered Annabeth. “Just need a nap.”

“Okay. Let me just grab a book or something-”

“I think I need a couple minutes… I…” Percy interrupted and Annabeth blinked at him. He never asked her for space. If anything, they had been more inseparable post-war. She seemed to understand all the same because she knelt down and let her fingers lightly trail over his cheek. “Sorry.” He told her weakly. She gave a sad smile and pressed a kiss to his temple.

“Don’t be sorry,” she said softly. “You know I have bad days too. I’m going to grab lunch… I’ll bring you something blue,” she told him and Percy smiled. He was lucky. So lucky. His mind flicked back to Nico.

“He’s with Will, right?” Percy asked and Annabeth paused by the door. “Nico, I mean,” he said with a shake of his head. “I… we should be checking on him more,” he said quietly.

Because he was there alone. Because Percy had done an awful job in protecting him. Because Percy was a bad friend. A bad person and he had never made it right with him and-

“I’ll check,” Annabeth promised. Her eyes were looking over him slowly. “Try not to think too much. Just sleep, seaweed brain.” She said. Percy grimaced in return as she exited the door and let it shut with a small click, leaving him alone in the solitude of his cabin.

Don’t think. He had to think. It was a predictable train of thought. He would try to think about the good things – to remind himself he was _lucky_ – only his mind jumped to how unlucky Nico had been and Tartarus.

Tartarus, Tartarus, Tartarus-

“You have not prayed to me.”

Pro Tip: Maybe don’t sneak up on a demigod. Especially not one who had been on multiple quests, fought in two wars, and seen the literal depths of Hell. Just a thought.

Percy didn’t really process the voice until it was too late and Riptide was out and placed at the intruder’s neck. He blinked. Once… twice…

“Oh,” he said and just like that the energy left him again. He dropped the sword so that it clattered to floor and collapsed back on the bed. “Hi, dad,” he sighed and he thought back to the earlier words. “I prayed to you this morning,” he added, staring to the ceiling. He sounded so tired.

Nothing. The silence filled the room for so long that Percy was sure his father had left. Just as his mind began shutting itself down again there was a flicker of movement. Percy tensed, but didn’t lash out again as he saw Poseidon shift a bit closer.

“…I didn’t think that was you,” he murmured and Percy stared at him.

“Are prayers hard to differentiate?” He asked dryly. He really didn’t care. Maybe a few years ago this might have excited him… his father popping in to discuss godly things, but now… now he just wanted some peace.

“Not particularly,” Poseidon answered slowly. “And yours have always… stood out,” he decided. Percy pursed his lips. What did he _want?_ “I have noticed they are very short these days.”

“Sorry.”

Poseidon stepped closer. He was frowning down at Percy with something he might label as ‘concern’ on pretty much everyone else… not Poseidon though. He may hold his father in higher regards than other gods, but he was convinced none of them could actually feel things as they did.

“Are you ill?” He asked and irritation filled the room. “Why have you not been treated?”

“I’m not ill.”

“I – Perseus,” he said and a hand touched his leg. Percy flinched at the movement. The hand went away.

“Can you find someone else?” Percy sighed and forced himself to sit up. Poseidon stared back him – expression suddenly unreadable. “I’m… tired,” he muttered, running a hand through his hair. “I don’t think I can do whatever it is you need me to do right now,” he said and more guilt hit his chest. Why was he pawning off his chores now? He was feeling lazy so now other people had to pick up the slack? Other people had to be in danger? How freaking _selfish_ -

“I do not need anything,” Poseidon said, interrupting Percy’s devolving train of thought. “I simply grew concerned when I had not properly heard from you in some time.”

“I pray to you every day,” Percy said, exasperated. “What does it matter anyways? It’s not a conversation. It’s not like you listen-”

“That’s not true.”

“Sure,” Percy said for the sake of not arguing with yet another god. “I’ll do better with that.” He amended and fell back on the bed. He wanted to sleep. Just… just sleep. Then, without thinking about who was in the room or what he was even saying, he whispered: “I think they broke me.”

They. Percy didn’t even know who he met exactly. Maybe the Fates or the gods or giants or titans or… all of them. Either way, it was a stupid thing to say. Nobody wanted to hear that. Not from him. Not from the person who was supposed to _fix_ everything. How could he-

“I don’t think that’s quite true,” Poseidon’s voice answered – surprisingly soft. Soft enough that Percy risked a glance at him. He looked… oddly normal for once. No crazy auras or godly vibes at all. Like he could be anyone’s dad. “I have some answers to your questions.”

“What?”

“Artemis is rather impartial to humans inhabiting her planetary representative,” Poseidon said conversationally. “Her interests are more in how the moon affects this planet so as long as humans don’t do anything drastic I can’t imagine she would mind. Ares, on the other hand… will be very displeased once humans set foot on Mars.”

What… what was happening? Percy blinked a few times as he tried to make sense of the words.

“As for Atlantis, there are plenty of misconceptions. Plato was an idiot. One of Athena’s, obviously,” he added under his breath. Percy felt a hint of amusement at that. “They didn’t anger the gods. The opposite, actually. They rather pleased me. It was a lovely island and I spent a lot of time there. During the war the asked for my aid and I told them that I wasn’t inclined to intervene-”

“Why not?” Percy asked. Poseidon tilted his head. “Why didn’t you want to help?”

“Oh. I was busy. Hermes had just been born so Apollo was throwing a fit about his cattle,” Poseidon said and Percy couldn’t help but scoff. “Anyways, I felt a little bad when I came back and saw they were struggling. They were such a pleasant and loyal group. So, I turned them all into immortal sea people and put their island in my domain. Zeus was upset with me, but I was needing a new kingdom anyway. It worked out.”

Percy shifted a bit, turning so he could hear more clearly.

“The Athena girl…” he said slowly. “Her mother is truly a nightmare. I suppose I should feel sorry for the poor thing. I can’t imagine having a mother such as that – then again my mother let father eat me so perhaps I’m being harsh,” he mused. Then looked at Percy. “I disapproved for a long time,” he admitted. Percy frowned. “I told her as much once,” he added and then paused. “She did not take it well.”

 _That_ was news. Annabeth had never mentioned having a conversation with his father – especially regarding anything to do with their relationship.

“But,” Poseidon continued. “I do perhaps see why you enjoy her company. There were worse matches for you certainly… not many that were worse, but some,” he said and Percy raised an eyebrow.

“Since when do you have a say in my love life?” He asked blandly. Not the smartest thing to say to an all-powerful god, but eh. Believe it or not, Percy had done stupider things. Poseidon scoffed.

“Should I not?” He asked and then shrugged. “You were a favorite of Aphrodite for awhile. I tried my best to get her to leave you alone,” he added. Percy stared back. He wondered what plans Aphrodite had for him. Dear gods.

“…nevermind. Thank you.”

“Uh huh,” Poseidon mused. “Now, on the subject of the creation of Athena’s children... I have no idea. Especially on the whole belly button thing-"

"Oh, she has one," Percy said and Poseidon paused. Percy looked at him for a moment before he replayed what he just said and flushed. "I - uh, I mean - I... asked her...?" He said and then shook his head. "I vaguely remember asking why Zeus turned Thalia into a pine tree. Any answers there?" He asked, redirecting the discussion. Poseidon rolled his eyes, but admitted that he hadn't gotten around to asking Zeus about it.

The conversation continued for a solid hour – maybe more. Percy couldn’t be sure. It was… something. Nice maybe wasn’t the right word. Satisfactory? Distracting? Something. He just listened to his dad’s voice, using it as subtle reassurance he was here. On Earth. Not in Tartarus. Not on a quest. Not fighting for his life. Not alone.

It was a little mortifying to know Poseidon _had_ been listening to all his incessant ramblings, but Percy was equally amused to find his father had taken these questions with utmost seriousness. He tried to imagine him in Atlantis struggling to figure out what Percy was saying and making note to get answers for him. It was… a little sweet even.

“…I can’t believe you heard _everything_ ,” Percy grumbled into his pillow. “And that you remember. I don’t even remember talking about the penguins.”

“I’m a god,” he said by the way of explanation. Percy hummed at that. His eyes were fluttering closed. Still… still so, so, so tired. A hand touched his head and he jumped a little, but relaxed when he remembered who it was. His father would never hurt–

“Did you know?” He whispered, keeping his eyes closed. The hand had brushed some hair from his eyes, surprisingly feeling not too different from when his mom used to do the same thing when he was sick in bed… or pretending to be sick in bed. “That Hera grabbed me. That she erased my memory. That I fell in… you know,” he muttered.

No answer came, but Percy still felt the hand in his hair so he didn’t bother to look and see if Poseidon was still there. Maybe that was a question not ready to be answered. Great. He had ruined whatever… whatever this was.

“I knew Hera took you," the answer finally came a few moments later. "I was angry… I hadn’t known why at first and planned to figure it out, but by that point my forms were… struggling,” he continued slowly. “That took up my concentration for the most part. I found out about the other two things later,” he said and Percy nodded. Fair enough. “I did warn you,” came a wary sigh. “A hero’s fate is never happy.”

Percy paused. His mind suddenly flashed back to being twelve and seeing his father for the first time only to be slapped in the face with the ‘ _I’m sorry you were ever born’_ bullshit followed by that hero’s fate comment. What had Percy said in return?

_I don’t mind, father._

And Poseidon’s response… not yet.

Percy sat up, knocking off the hand as he did so to stare the god down. Poseidon tilted his head.

“You’re wrong,” Percy told him point blank. There was a pause where Percy knew he had absolutely no idea how to respond to that. “I mean, what the Hell? I… what are even my choices at this point? I’m alive. Slightly messed up, but alive. Maybe you’ll fling me into another prophecy or whatever or maybe I’ll just die fighting monsters – I really don’t care anymore, but even if it ends terribly I have to… get something, right? At least one happy-ish year. Maybe.” He said though as he continued out with his outburst the words got weaker and smaller. Finally he collapsed back on the bed and groaned.

Silence followed.

"Well," Poseidon finally said. "Your mother did name you Perseus for a reason. She is wiser than either of us, so perhaps we need to put some faith in that."

Percy smiled weakly and looked back up.

"That's a good point," he sighed. "She is one of the smartest person I know."

Poseidon hummed.

"She asked me the same question," he told him and Percy tilted his head. "About Medusa. I think it is one of the first things I heard from you," he said with a shake of his head. "Sally found out I was a god and immediately she wanted to know why I brought Medusa into Athena's temple. Didn't even miss a beat," he grumbled, looking vaguely annoyed. "She could have asked me about _anything_ , but she decided to go with that," he mumbled.

Percy waited.

"Well?" He prompted. "What did you tell her?"

"That it was to make Athena mad, but _technically_ it was Medusa's idea-" he said and Percy shook his head. "I am over a thousand years old. You cannot lecture me," he muttered indignantly. Percy opened his mouth to respond, but a knock cut him off.

"Percy?" Annabeth's voice called. "I have food."

Oh. He glanced over at Poseidon. He had honestly lost track of time. It had been awhile since time felt like it passed in normal increments rather than dragging sluggishly by. Percy yawned and sat up. Poseidon reached over and clasped his knee.

"I should leave you," he said and looked Percy up and down. "Do not despair. The Fates did not put you through this grief not to give you reprieve," he said. Percy almost pointed out that this was a different tune then he had been singing earlier, but decided against it. The guy seemed legitimately concerned. That was kind of nice. So instead he smiled weakly and nodded. "And I do hope you continue praying."

"...do you really?" Percy asked skeptically. Poseidon laughed.

"I find most of them quite enjoyable."

"I am almost positive you are going to regret saying that, but sure," Percy said and stood up to let Annabeth in. "Thanks, dad." He added quietly. When he looked back up there was the smell of the sea and nothing more.

* * *

Poseidon wasn't really sure how much time had passed by. By mortal standards, it may have been awhile. Months even. He supposed it did take some time to heal after... well, everything Perseus had been through. He shouldn't expect his son to call out to him when he was working to piece himself together. It was-

_Hey, dad. You will not believe this bullshit - well, maybe you will. How familiar are you with mortal education systems? I - wait, sorry. I won't get sidetracked. So, apparently, you go missing for a year and a school won't admit you? I was missing! It wasn't my fault! Now I have to search around for someplace to take me before school starts again and I swear on the styx that if I don't graduate on time that Annabeth might just strangle me-_

There he was.

_-Jason says that isn't possible, but Jason is a coward. Hey. Does that come from the word cow? Probably not, but it would be fun to point out to Hera. Sorry. Blasphemous thoughts... she did take my memory and throw me to the Romans though... which, did she have to wipe my memory? I'm not sold on that. I would have played nice knowing I was Greek! I-_

"Poseidon?" Zeus' voice said, making him jump. Ah, right. He had been talking to his brother, hadn't he? "Are you listening to me? We have important things to discuss and-"

"Why did you turn Thalia Grace into a pine tree specifically?" He asked. Zeus faltered.

"...what? Why do you ask me this?" He frowned and then leaned back as if trying to see Poseidon more clearly. "Why did I...? I don't understand, brother," he said and Poseidon smiled back. "Why do you ask this?" He repeated. Poseidon opened his mouth before shrugging. Percy was still talking in the back of his head. They had moved onto tornadoes. Zeus frowned at him. Poseidon shook his head.

"Just... answering a prayer."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It occurred to me I wrote [ a similar post](https://caffeinatedflumadiddlebutpjo.tumblr.com/post/642948707491479553/i-just-love-the-idea-of-sally-talking-to-poseidon) with Sally and Poseidon that had the same theme so now I wrote this. Enjoy lol.
> 
> I had other posts of mine that I pulled from for this chapter, but that's the main one lol.

Sally didn't pray much.

She hadn't grown up religious and never really sought out any god. Perhaps there was a certain irony in her situation because of that. Biting her tongue, she took a long breath and looked back down at the pregnancy test in her hand. She wasn't sure why she was surprised. Had she really expected birth control to work on a _literal Greek god?_

No, but she had hoped.

"Damnit," she muttered and ran a hand through her hair. "Poseidon, you _whore,"_ she growled - as if he had been the sole perpetrator in this situation. In her defense, she had held out as a 'friend' for three months, but it was a little hard when your friend was handsome, funny, and... oh, what was it? Yeah, a _fucking_ god. Maybe if someone like Apollo had shown up on her doorstep, she could have walked away, but... Poseidon could talk to fish. How was she supposed to resist?

Taking a long breath - Sally told herself to be reasonable. Perfectly reasonable. Putting her hands together, she offhandedly wondered if this would even work... but hey. She didn't really know another way to speed dial Atlantis, so she interlaced her fingers and hoped for the best.

"Poseidon," she said aloud and then swallowed. "Um, it's me. Sally... Jackson," she said and grimaced. "Just thought you should know I'm pregnant... panicking a little bit, but, uh, you did mention that this could happen. I'm not really sure what the next step here is? Like, do I... what do I do? I'm barely qualified to take care of myself, and now I have this half-god baby? I'm not even sure I want to be a mother! I - not that this kid won't be great, but... I don't know. If you could drop some godly wisdom on me... that would be fantastic," she muttered and then unclasped her hands.

What was she supposed to do? Pressing her forehead against the door, she mulled over her options for a bit before letting her hand flutter to her stomach.

"I guess it's just you and me," she told her stomach and swallowed. It would be fine. Fine. Totally fine.

Reassurance came by three days later. Except it wasn’t reassurance. It was a man with a baseball bat, furry legs, and horns. Sally figured her options were to either let him inside or maybe try braying at him... She decided to go with the polite method even though goatman here wasn't exactly full of manners himself. 

"The name is Gleeson. Gleeson Hedge," the... _thing_ greeted as he stomped into her apartment. "I got an anonymous tip that you are in need of some godly guidance," he said and rustled through her trash before bringing out a coke can and chowing down. Sally blinked a few times before slowly closing the door.

"Hello," she went with and then turned to study the guest over. "Um, thank you for... stopping by. What are you the god of?" She asked and Gleeson snorted.

"I'm flattered cupcake, but I'm no god. Satyr," he said and wiggled his hooves. Sally nodded. Right. "Now, do you know who the baby daddy is? Or is it a baby mama?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at her. Sally's lips twitched. He didn't know. Good. Poseidon mentioned that prophecy... it was probably safer for nobody to know. Shaking her head she sat down and listened as she was regaled in a tale of gods and camps and demigods. By the end of it, she had a tentative plan. Her son or daughter would smell too strongly to stay in the mortal world. It would be safer to bring the baby to Camp Half-Blood right after birth. Sally wouldn't have to worry of their safety and she... she could continue her life. It was fine.

Except it wasn't fine... it wasn't fine at all. Sally had fought getting attached the entire nine months of pregnancy. She ignored the kicking and milestones. The sonograms and people cooing over her swelling stomach. Despite herself, she always talked to him - to _it._

"I can't keep you," she said once, rubbing her stomach. "I'm sorry, but I just can't. I wouldn't be any good at this. Your father has a place for you to go. It'll be better there," she explained and forced it to sound like the truth.

Admittedly, Sally wasn’t...overflowing with loved ones. It was kind of nice to have someone to... Just someone.

“My life is a mess so I can’t offer you much wisdom,” she said as she snacked on some french fries. “Just know that you should always be kind and sometimes people make that really hard. And we can silently judge them. For example, that guy didn't throw his food in the trash. Why? Perhaps he’s in a hurry... Or a dick. Either way I'm going to throw it away because I'm a sucker and can't help myself, ” she mumbled and ambled across the park.

It was like having an imaginary friend almost... and then suddenly he wasn't imaginary anymore.

"I've changed my mind," Sally said and Gleeson stared back at her as if she had grown two heads. "You can't take him."

"I can't - _cupcake_ ," Gleeson said indignantly. "This boy smells strong already. He's a freaking baby. Look at him!" He said and Sally clutched the bundle closer to her chest. She had fought it so hard, but the second her gaze fell on the baby... it was over. She knew that this was quite possibly the only thing in her life that suddenly mattered.

"You can't take him," she repeated firmly.

"Baby daddy won't like that."

"Tough," Sally said firmly and hugged her son closer. "He's mine and I don't want him at your camp."

“But-”

“No.”

“Sally,” Hedge said, dropping the nickname to show real concern. “I’m getting stationed to the West Coast soon. If he doesn't go now then it might be a long time before someone else can find and bring him. Not to mention the monsters.”

Ah, the monsters. Sally bit her lip.

“Please,” she told him and the baby blinked at her. “Don’t take him.”

So Gleeson left. Sally wasn't sure it was the right call - not really, but it was hers and so was this baby. Not sure what else she could do... She prayed. 

"Hey, Poseidon," she said softly. "Your son was born today. His name is Perseus - don't give me shit over it. I don't care that your brother had a son named Perseus. He was the only hero with a happy ending and you were the one with that spiel on the power of names," she grumbled and then nodded. "It also means destroyer so your family better know not to mess around with my boy," she said. Percy moved a bit in her arms. Sally's lips twitched. "...do you think Aphrodite is going to be mad that you and I made the cutest baby in the world?" She asked.

He was pretty cute. This was a serious concern. Sally smiled a little.

“You better get ready, Poseidon,” she whispered. “I can feel it. He’ll be more than any of those gods can even imagine.”

* * *

 _Poseidon I am so angry at you right now,_ Sally's voice seethed - hot and demanding. Poseidon froze. Nobody else could hear the prayer, but it seemed precarious all the same with gods mulling about. He didn't often stop by Olympus outside of solstices, but had come to help Demeter out with whatever she had been whining about this morning. He figured he should start winning over more relatives for whenever Perseus' identity was revealed. They might be a bit more inclined to help out. Swallowing, he tried to keep a straight face as Sally spoke. _I am seething, I am furious. You better not show up here or I will throw something at you, I swear. Percy said his first word and it was supposed to be mama but instead it was fish and he’s never even seen a fish, so I know this is your fault entirely and -_

Poseidon had to fight not to grin. Ah, yes. Sally did occasionally pray to give him updates. He tried to ignore them, but... by gods was it hard. He couldn't see Perseus at all, so really her words were the only window into his son's life he had. His favorite so far had been Sally trying and failing to figure out how to give him a bath. Perseus' powers would tend to follow his will so if he didn’t want to get wet then he wouldn’t, which would make baths... fairly difficult.

"Brother?" Demeter's voice called to him and Poseidon blinked. Yes. Right.

"Apologies," he said with a slight bow of his head. "My mind tends to wander on land."

"Hm," Demeter said, though there was suspicion in her voice. "Well, thank you for your aid either way," she told him. Poseidon nodded even though he had already forgotten what it was he was helping her with. Sally's voice popped back up.

_Not to be rude, but do gods not pay child support?_

This woman must be trying to kill him.

_I mean, I can take care of myself, but diapers are kind of expensive. Who knew? Not me... or you, probably. Well, now you know. Diapers are expensive. So is everything baby-related, apparently._

She was definitely trying to kill him.

_On that note, I have to go to work... you know, so I can afford diapers._

Poseidon was petty sure she might succeed in her assassination attempt if she kept up with this.

"You're smiling," Demeter informed him and Poseidon quickly schooled his expression as he was handed a basket of strawberries... what had he gotten himself roped into? "Poseidon," Demeter said and snapped her fingers in front of his face. "You better not be spying on some mortal. Remember your vows," she told him.

Ah, if only she knew those vows had been desecrated long ago.

"You're absolutely right, sister." He told her and bowed his head. "Thank you for reminding me."

Demeter sighed and shook her head.

"That mortal better consider herself lucky she won't be siring your child," she grumbled. Poseidon nodded solemnly.

"Yes, I do hear diapers are quite expensive these days." He said and Demeter blinked.

"What?"

"What?" Poseidon repeated. His sister looked at him for a few moments before holding up both hands in surrender and lightly pushing him towards the door where one of Hermes' delivery trucks were waiting. He waited - secretly hoping Sally was still there, but it appeared she had gone to work after all. Sighing, Poseidon pushed thoughts of pretty mortals with warm smiles from his mind and tried to figure out what was happening with the strawberries in his hands.

...and if some money happened to appear on Sally Jackson's counter with the words _'child_ _support'_ clipped to it... well, that was just a coincidence.

* * *

"So," Sally said and folded her hands together. "Percy strangled two snakes with his bare hands today… Why can he do that, but not eat peas? I don’t get it," she began, looking at her sleeping toddler curled up beside her. "More updates are that his favorite food right now is pancakes, he says he wants to be a firefighter when he grows up, and he can count to twenty… sometimes. You know, if he isn’t distracted by a butterfly or something," she said and sighed. "He looks like you. Eyes and hair and I'm pretty sure his angry face is the same face you made when I told you that I thought Odysseus was right," she grinned.

Thunder rumbled and Sally laughed.

"He just wanted to get home to his wife. You were kind of being a jerk," she said and sunk further into the bed, turning to stare at her son as she kept her hands firmly clasped together. "More monsters are going to find him, aren't they?" She whispered. The wind shifted - blowing into the open window. Sally got up as a fluttering caught her attention. Frowning, she reached over to grab piece of orange paper that landed on her bedside table.

_Camp Half-Blood: Long Island, New York_

Sally tossed the pamphlet to the ground and folded her hands together again.

"No," she said flatly. "I can find another way. If I send him there then I risk others finding out he's your son and... your family finding out he's your son," she said and swallowed. "Besides, I want him with me. It's safer. Nobody knows he exists. We can wait a little longer. I'll find a way."

Another paper fluttered through the window. Gritting her teeth, Sally stood up and slammed it shut.

"Knock if off," she told him flatly. "I can do this. I - I guess I did pray to you," she sighed, unable to be truly angry. Poseidon meant well. She knew he did. It wasn't kind of her to snap at him. "I can do this though. Perhaps you don't see that I can, but... I'll prove you wrong," she said and Percy shifted in his sleep. "Thanks for listening to me... Do all gods do that? Listen to prayers?" She asked and then looked at her intertwined hands. "Well, I hope you like them because they'll probably be more. I have to keep you updated on the important stuff. Percy got a toy bear the other day. That was big," she grinned. "Naturally, he has named it Squid. I have little doubt he is your son."

It continued on like that. Though... admittedly, Sally's prayers became less frequent as Sally became more occupied with... other things.

“So,” a voice said and Sally could tell he was angry before she could even see him. “I was wondering why you haven't prayed. It seems you were busy proving me wrong.”

“God or not, I wouldn’t lecture me,” Sally warned him as she closed the bathroom cabinet. The mirror showed Poseidon’s reflection – dressed in the beach clothes she had met him in though his eyes were glowing hot and white. They dimmed when Sally looked at him.

“I want Perseus to spend time with you,” Poseidon began slowly and Sally bit her tongue to keep from snapping at him. “But I don’t agree-”

“He’s _my son!”_ She snapped and spun around to glower at him. Poseidon’s expression hardened for a moment.

“He’s also _mine_.”

“Well, _you_ don’t want him,” Sally spat back. Part of her was shocked at her own words. Sally had always been a smidge temperamental, but she wasn't ever outright snappish. Perhaps it was the lack of sleep or overall living situation. She would have to work on that. Percy shouldn't see her angry. Never. That wasn't what he needed from her. Poseidon though... she could maybe snap at him. Just a little. The god himself at stiffened at her words. “If you think he’s in so much danger then take him to Atlantis!” She told him even though she knew that it would break her heart if he ever did. Poseidon stared at her with an expression she couldn’t quite read – half-outraged and half-exasperated.

“He would be no safer in Atlantis than he is here,” he said evenly. “And neither are as safe as Camp Half-Blood!” He began as Sally sighed and turned away. “I don’t want that thing near my son or you. Especially you,” he said, voice going gentle towards the end. “I’ve had half a mind to kill him since he entered this damn apartment-”

“ _Don’t you dare!”_ Sally began and whirled around to point a finger at him. “I can handle myself. You told me he would be safe if he didn’t smell like a demigod!”

“You consider this safe?”

“Is that the argument you want to take? You think you have the moral high ground somehow? As if I can’t literally go to a library and pull up your misdeeds? I’m sorry, but for what child do you deserve the parent of the year award? Triton? Theseus? Orion?” She demanded. Poseidon’s eyes flashed. “In half of those myths, you are the _villain!_ Don’t pretend like you suddenly have-”

“Those were thousands of years ago and gods have many sides, Sally. This is not my darker one,” he said, though she wasn’t so sure with the tone he used. It was sometimes easy to forget – or to even fully understand – exactly who (no, _what_ ) she was speaking to.

“And what exactly do you want with Perseus?” She asked. “He lives and…? What? You’re going to use him to carry out your wars? Your prophecies? Earn you glory?” She asked coldly. Poseidon didn’t answer. “I will protect him. He’s my child. My baby. I found a way to keep him with me and he will stay that way until _I_ decide it is time for him to go to your damn camp,” she told him coldly. “If you don’t like it then be an actual father. We can reconsider then.”

A knock sounded at the door.

“SALLY!” Gabe’s voice screeched through the wood. “YOUR BRAT IS WHINING FOR YOU!”

Poseidon’s nostrils flared.

“I’m coming!” Sally called back and took a long breath. Poseidon bit his lip – reaching out for a moment and then lowering his hand when Sally stared at the movement warily.

“You’re a good mother,” he said after a few seconds. “And if you change your mind on what to do with that mortal…” he trailed off and looked in the direction Gabe’s voice came. “I will offer you aid.” Sally smiled weakly and nodded. She didn’t bother to say that deep down… she didn’t think she needed Poseidon for that either. "And... Sally, I..." Poseidon began and went quiet. "I do enjoy your prayers. I can't come here again. It's too dangerous. For all of us. Your words are really all I get to have of either of you," he admitted, sounding defeated by even just admitting such a thing. Sally tilted her head and gave a long sigh as she let her fingers lightly brush over his cheek.

"Fine," she said and gave a wry grin. "But only if you promise me to be good to him... whenever he does go to that camp of yours."

Poseidon's lips twitched.

"I promise."

* * *

_Horses?_

Poseidon paused. Zeus was talking about something or another - winter solstices were really becoming a pain in the ass - when Sally spoke again. It wasn't her usual updates on Percy this time. Instead her voice was full of utter exasperation. _You didn't warn me about the horses, Poseidon._

Oh no. That wasn't a good start. He braced himself for whatever was going to come next.

_I kept him away from fish because I thought they might talk to him. We stay away from all sea creatures when possible, but I didn't think to worry about the horses of all things. Why? What possessed you to make a land creature? Did you feel the need to buff up your ancient resume or something? Should I expect raccoons to talk to him too?_

Poseidon inwardly rolled his eyes. Please. As if he would be responsible for those monstrosities.

 _I can't believe this. I'm lucky he's young enough people still believe the overactive imagination excuse,_ Sally continued. She went quiet for a moment and Poseidon frowned a little. Was that it? He was almost disappointed. Scratch that - he _was_ disappointed. Now he had to listen to Zeus' horrendously long lecture on... what was he even talking about?

 _You know, I'm just going to say_ it, Sally said. Thank gods. Poseidon wouldn't have to find out what Zeus was talking about after all. _If you try to take this kid away from me to put in your dumb camp I absolutely will fight you god or not._

Don't smile. Don't smile. Why did he even want to smile? He would smite others for such a comment. She wasn't done either.

_I may not look like much and... well, okay, you would probably win, but I might get a solid hit in. Maybe even two. Now that I am no longer distracted by how good looking you are I think I have a solid chance of getting that second one in._

Poseidon would probably let her have three for the Hell of it. Did that make him pathetic? Perhaps. He sighed. It had been so long since he allowed himself to be dragged down by a mortal like this. He forgot the feeling of it - like someone had come along and swept his power right out from under him. Artemis always growled that all the gods (and Aphrodite) were slaves to their impulses. She was... well, maybe a little right, but there was a definitive difference between bedding a pretty face and whatever this ridiculous adoration Sally Jackson inspired. It was much more rare in his thousands of years.

 _Nevermind,_ Sally said flatly. _He just ate the last Pop-Tart. You can have him._

...perhaps this is what drew him in. Bewilderment.

_I feel the need to point that was a joke. Don’t come around here trying to take my baby. I have a frying pan and clear-sight. Do with that information what you will._

Poseidon laughed and immediately regretted when eyes all turned to him. He had been doing so well.

"Yes, brother?" Zeus asked coolly. Poseidon collected himself quickly. What was the last thing he had heard? Eh, it didn't matter. He would improvise.

"The whole thing just amuses me."

Silence. Ah. He had definitely said something wrong. Zeus stared at him as if already considering all the different ways he could cast him into Tartarus with their father.

"...I'm sure it would," he said coldly. "Cyclops were what allowed Hades' monsters to catch up to my daughter."

Wait. Were they talking about Thalia Grace? Poseidon felt his stomach sink. Ah. That was... unfortunate. Hades glowered at Zeus from his seat. That explained the tension in the room at least. Zeus was throwing his brother nasty looks as Hades himself muttered something or another about his own mortal Zeus had struck down years ago. Poseidon tried to picture Sally and Perseus killed like Zeus had done to the di Angelos. He felt a stab of sympathy for his brother.

"Not at the girl's passing," Poseidon said calmly, deciding to take the easy route. "Just that your daughter was noble enough to die for one of Athena's spawn."

" _Poseidon!"_ Athena hissed and Hermes frowned.

"My child was there too."

"Ah," Poseidon was with a nod towards his nephew. "That must have been why then," he said, ignoring Athena fuming. He sneered at her from across the throne room - matching the look in her eyes of gray swirling with rage.

"You speak boldly for someone whose children were bested by my seven-year-old," she finally told him. Poseidon shrugged. He had many cyclops. He couldn't control them all the time. Maybe he should send some to check on Perseus actually... that might work. Discreetly, of course.

He wondered what his own seven-year-old was up to... other than eating a Pop-Tart that is.

 _Here's another_ _update_ , Sally told him (could she sense his curiosity?). _I just got a call from Percy's school telling me how he started a small sticker rebellion. Apparently they give out stickers if they're good in school. Percy never gets any so he went and got his own. Now he's passing them out to all the other kids in class. Can't exactly blame the monsters for this one._

Ha. As if Athena's girl could even compete.

* * *

"You know, there are times I forget he’s your son… but then he blows up a bus and I remember," Sally said as she sank into the couch. Gabe was passed out in the bed and Percy was still in school. For now. Sally had no doubt he was going to be expelled even though she was certain it hadn't even been his fault. She should be going to pick him up, but she needed a minute to collect her thoughts.

...and tell her resident baby daddy the most recent bullshit. He had asked to be kept updated, right?

"You know, I'm not even sure this one is on you," she admitted. "I can't imagine there is a monster out there whose grand plan was to have Percy blow up a _bus_. Why are the cannons active anyways?" She grumbled and pressed a finger to her temple. "We'll have to go out for ice cream or something. That'll make him feel better. Blue ice cream. Have I informed you we're a blue family now? We eat blue food.” She was so tired. It felt like she went through jobs like Percy did schools. School. She missed school. College seemed like such a faraway dream, but a small part of her held on all the same. 

“What else...? He lost his last baby tooth. Not that he believes in the tooth fairy after Gabe ruined that for him,” she said bitterly. “He says he still believes in Santa, but I know he's just humoring me," she said and shook her head. "I don't know how I got blessed with such a sweet child... I don't think it came from you," she added with an apologetic smile. Then reconsidered. "I guess you can be sweet," she amended and then scowled. "Though I haven't forgiven you for letting me pay for those nachos when you could have just snapped your fingers and got us some," she grumbled. The wind blew outside and she could have sworn it was a laugh.

Shaking her head, she sat up. That was probably enough for today. Percy didn't deserve to be left much longer with those scowling school administrators with their belittling comments and cold eyes. She got up to grab her purse when a paper caught her eye. Oh no. Biting back a smile, she walked over to the table and flipped it over.

_Poseidon - God of Seas, Storms, Earthquakes, Droughts, Floods and Horses_

"I know that you did not really make me a resume," she muttered and - yep. There was his work experience (including but not limited to: life guard, fisherman, creator of islands, destroyer of cities, and main adversary to obnoxious mortals returning from war... also horse trainer), Education (Kronos' Gastro-Academy... hilarious), Skills (there were a few highlighted, which she guessed meant Percy would also be likely to inherit.. huh. She didn't know Poseidon knew photography), and Objective ( 'to allow certain mortals a better understanding of myself... because apparently she can go to the library to learn all my misdeeds, but not my triumphs').

Sally snorted. Shaking her head, she carefully folded the paper up and folded her hands together.

"You think you're real funny, don't you?" She asked and looked over her shoulder to where Gabe had grunted in his sleep. Part of her... just a small part wanted to ask Poseidon to come back. He said he couldn't, but Sally felt her stomach ache with hope. Maybe if she asked... he was god, right? Impossible things could maybe be made possible.

Just as she opened her mouth to say it, the door opened.

“Percy?” she asked and straightened herself up. “Sweetheart, what are you doing here? I thought you were at school.”

Percy blinked a few times at her. Tears, she realized. Oh no. She quickly dropped her things and went to him.

“I walked," he said and Sally heard his voice crack. What was wrong? She couldn't see any injuries. Had the teachers said something to upset him? Probably. Sighing, she hugged him, running a hand over the back of his hair. "I didn't mean to," he mumbled into her shoulder.

"I know."

"What's wrong with me?" He asked, sounding more tired than any ten-year-old should. Sally let go and frowned at him. "Don't there's nothing wrong either. I know there is," he added. Sally pursed her lips. "I think I might be crazy," he added lowly. "I see things sometimes..."

_You wouldn't happen to have a demigod parenting guide, would you?_

Ha. As if. If the gods had a parenting guide then maybe they should read it first.

"You see things?" Sally asked him seriously. Percy bit his lip and nodded. She let out a long sigh. "I wanted to wait until you were older to tell you, Percy..." she began and when he tilted his head, smiled. "Those are your eyes. You actually have two of them-"

 _"Mom_."

"Sorry," she laughed and kissed his forehead. "I know things are confusing right now. I wish I could..." she began and trailed off. Could what? Tell him the truth? That was the last thing she wanted. If she could let him live in ignorance forever she would. "You know what? Maybe we should try another boarding school," she suggested softly. "That might be fun."

"Would it?" Percy asked doubtfully. "Maybe I can join the circus instead."

"I bet you would make a great horse trainer," she agreed, thinking of Poseidon's resume. Percy brightened. "Maybe we should wait until you're older though. I think the next school might the one," she promised. Percy grimaced and ran a hand through messy hair.

"Don't lie to me like that."

“Percy, I'm your mother. I wouldn't lie to you,” she promised and Percy nodded. Smiling she kissed his forehead again before letting him go with promises of blue cookies and ice cream. When the door to his room shut, Sally put her hands back together.

“He’s going to be so mad when he finds out I lie to him all the time-”

* * *

“Hello, Poseidon. I heard you met our son.”

Poseidon smiled at Sally's words. He should be focusing on a million other things, but the world seemed to pause for him to sink in the sound of her voice. If he closed his eyes he could vaguely see her outline. Percy was currently asleep next to her, head in her lap as she ran her hands through his hair.

“He did well,” Poseidon said even though she couldn't hear him. It was a little silly to reply at all, but he couldn't help himself. Sally's lips pursed as if she could magically understand his response.

“If you were here... I would _throttle_ you for calling him a wrongdoing," she said casually. Poseidon closed his eyes. “Yes, he told me. He tried to make it seem like he didn’t care. I know him better than that,” she added softly and ran a thumb over Percy's cheek. "He just went on this entire _quest_... fought your ex-girlfriend and the god of War and whatever else for you to be a jerk," she grumbled.

“It… was perhaps poorly worded-”

“I can hear you now," Sally bit back. " _It was maybe worded wrong,"_ she mimicked. Poseidon sighed. “You’ve supposedly had many children. Have you not been informed that they have feelings?” She asked. Percy shifted slightly under hand – stilling both her and Poseidon. When it seemed he had slipped back into a deeper sleep, Poseidon spoke again.

“There are politics involved in this, Sally. A war. Perseus very well could be a child prophecy-”

Why was he justifying this? She couldn't hear him.

“He tried to defend you," she grumbled. "Prophecy and politics... I bet you would say the same thing to me." she groused, being careful to keep her voice a whisper. “You don’t think they’ve told him there’s prophecy? If he can get that stupid lightning bolt back you might do well to not treat him as if he’s weak,” she said coldly. Poseidon pursed his lips. “He knows he’s dangerous. He may not fully understand, but he knows.”

He’s probably always known, Poseidon thought. Deep down. The thought made him sigh. It was never fair. Poseidon wished - not for the first time - that he was there with her in person. He wanted to redo his first meeting with Perseus. Be better. Gods curse Sally Jackson. Always trying to better him in a way no mortal should challenge a god. It was unbecoming, but perhaps that was the charm in it. 

“You were right to keep him,” he said finally. “I credit his success with your parenting,” he told her and then reconsidered. “Also, I don’t believe for a second he would have gotten that bolt for Zeus if your life hadn’t been involved.” He added because this child _sent Medusa's head in a box to them_. Poseidon had worried what creation awaited them when he learned he was having a child with such a strong-willed mortal, but... yeah. Medusa's head in the box was a new level of stress.

"I bet you like him," Sally said, redirecting his attention to her prayer. "You may have pretended to be distant, but I think you already find him hilarious," she said... and was tragically a little right. Perseus' prayers over the course of the quest were baffling, but sometimes humorous. Poseidon was quite fond of his composure in the throne room. Unlike most heroes and demigods, Percy spoke over the main events as though there was nothing extraordinary about them. It was one of the most matter-of-fact things the sea god had ever witnessed. He especially loved Percy’s comment of ‘I told Lord Hades to give Charon a pay raise and then we escaped from the Underworld’ and ‘Then I challenged Ares and told him if I won that I get the helm. I won so Hades has his helm back and I came here.’

Even Zeus gave Poseidon a look that pretty much said ‘Yep. He’s yours’

“I think he’s going to like you too,” Sally said. Poseidon blinked. “Maybe not right now. He’s digesting, but… at the end of everything… I think you’re kind of likeable sometimes,” she told him with a small shrug. A smile touched his lips.

“Is that so?” He asked. Sally looked at the ceiling and scowled.

“Don’t let it go to your head.”

“I’ll try my best.”

* * *

Percy had once asked Sally how she could never be mad at him.

The answer had come easily. It wasn't ever Percy's fault. He couldn't help it if he attracted monsters, gods, demigods, or whatever chaos came into the world. It was something she knew would happen when she decided to keep him and had promised herself early on that she would never hold it against him.

It was also helpful to pray to ancient Greek deity and yell at him instead.

"Okay, listen," she began when Percy left the kitchen to get more chocolate chips for the cookies they were baking. "I'm glad that you voted _not_ to kill our son. I'm going to throw that out there. Great job. Also, um, look, I don't want to be too pushy on this topic, but _there was a vote to kill our son?"_ She demanded and held up her hands. "I'm not saying there was much you could do about it, but I'm kind of pissed. I - damnit, I had gotten so good at not cursing," she muttered and looked over her shoulder to make sure Percy hadn’t heard. Oh, what the Hell? She could slip back into her older habits. "I'm sorry," she said and took a deep breath. "I shouldn't be yelling at such an... _esteemed_ god," she said and made a face. "But what the fuck?"

"MOM!" Percy yelled and she could hear something crash in the pantry. "How many bags do we need?!"

"HOWEVER MANY YOU WANT!" She called. At this point, they both needed as much chocolate as possible. She turned back to her folded hands to redirect her attention to Poseidon. "Okay, I'm good. Very grateful he's okay," she sighed and leaned back against the counter. "Do you remember our first conversation?" She asked suddenly. She didn't wait for any universal sign to answer - they didn't often come anyways. "I asked to borrow your giant fork and you spent a solid ten minutes trying to convince me it was a surfboard?" She shook her head. "I need you to have that kind of determination when someone suggests murdering our child in the future," she informed the empty room flatly.

"I didn't know that."

Sally turned. Percy was in the doorway, arms filled with bags of chocolate chips and eyes burning with curiosity. Sally smiled. She supposed now that he knew the truth that perhaps he could be a bit more privy to how her first meeting with his father had actually gone.

"We were both quite adamant on the matter,” she told him. “I'm sure he realized I was clear-sighted immediately, but seemed to be intent on convincing me he was right on principle alone. I just wanted to borrow the giant fork," she shrugged and Percy's lips twitched as he dumped more ingredients on the counter.

"Why did you want the trident?" He asked and hopped up to watch her curiously. Sally handed him a bowl and some eggs to crack. She wondered if Poseidon could still hear them if he wanted - even if she stopped praying.

"Well, there was this tide pool towards the end of the beach and a little girl was upset that these men were harassing the animals that got trapped in there during the last tide," she explained and grabbed a whisk. "So, I thought I would use the trident to scare them away. Your father volunteered for the job after I told him. I was very annoyed with him for not letting me do it myself - which is a good thing actually, because who knows what I would have done with that trident on accident - but I forgave him when he helped me move the animals back into the ocean," she shrugged. Now that she thought back on it... had those mortals thought that an angry man was just chasing them with a surfboard? Or had Poseidon removed the mist? She supposed it didn't matter now.

Percy smiled a little, beating the eggs as he listened.

"Then what?"

"Then he asked me to dinner," she said. "I said no, of course. I was only supposed to be at that beach for a week and it didn't make sense for me to go on a date with some random man who claimed his giant fork was a surfboard. That's actually how I got him to admit it. I said we could compromise and I would let him buy me nachos if he admitted it was a fork. Then he got huffy and said _it wasn't a fork, it was a trident,"_ she mimicked.

"But you said that you two spent the summer together?" Percy frowned. Ah, yes. Well. Sally gave a weak smile.

"He, uh, convinced me to extend my stay. In all fairness, I found out Greek mythology was real and there was no way I was going to pass up asking an actual Greek god about... well, everything," she mused, thinking back to Poseidon being so incredibly patient with her asking about literally almost _everything_. "It was fun. He often served as a translator for me because I wanted to talk to dolphins so badly. I also demolished him at truth or dare."

"You - I'm sorry, you met Poseidon and decided to play truth or dare?" Percy demanded. Sally considered how much she wanted to torture him and then decided he was old enough to have a little fun with.

"Well, I had already said no to strip poker."

Based on her poor son's scandalized face... she would have to take it easy on him in the future.

"But, yeah, truth or dare,” she continued as Percy recovered. “I alternated between asking all my questions and then daring him to do mortal things," she laughed. Poseidon had been so indignant on the matter. "I got him to open up a bank account, you know."

"No, you didn't."

"How do you think I was able to send you to so many private schools?" She asked. Percy's mouth dropped. "I hadn't actually expected to use it," she told him offhandedly. "I prayed to him about child support a few times as a joke and he left money. Later on I found the old paperwork for it just sitting on the counter. I'm pretty sure he left it there and when I checked," she shrugged. "There was always the right amount for your tuition."

"You pray to him?" Percy asked. He had completely forgotten the cookies now, leaving Sally to mull about the kitchen and slap his hands away from the cookie dough as she rolled them into balls on the baking sheet. Sally shrugged again.

"Do you?"

"I try," Percy said slowly. "I don't think he ever hears me. That's sometimes for the best. I, uh, ramble," he admitted. Sally laughed. Yes, she could definitely see that. Even in a normal conversation Percy tended to sidetrack himself. It had to be worse when he was just talking in his own head. "I guess it makes more sense that he would answer your prayers," Percy added - more to himself than to her. Sally stopped in organizing the cookie sheet to look at him. Did it? Her confusion must have shown because Percy smiled at her in that way... that way that made her think of the sun and sea and holding her son for the first time. "That oath was a pretty big deal. He must have liked you a lot to break it."

Sally snorted.

"I don't know about that," she told him and Percy tilted his head as she put the tray into the oven. "The scoundrel did make me pay for the nachos."

"Why did he do that?!" Percy asked, sounding genuinely outraged for her. Sally grinned - though felt a smidge of bashfulness as she walked over to pat her son's cheek.

"I called the trident a fork again."

* * *

The differences between Percy and Sally's prayers to him were... extensive.

Both, admittedly, were enjoyable in their own right. There were some similarities too. Percy's endless ramblings often reminded him of a younger Sally - excited to learn so much of her world now that she knew that all she saw wasn't in her head. In turn, Sally's life updates could grow a smidge disjointed if she was flustered or overwhelmed... which was happening more and more since... the Blowfish fellow.

Don't get him wrong, he liked the man fine. If Sally found him agreeable then that was acceptable. She deserved happiness. He just... kept showing up in _both_ of their prayers. First Perseus decides Paul could be a potential confidant _as he was talking to Poseidon_. Honestly.

_What just pissed you off?_

A real question his son has asked when Poseidon rightfully got annoyed. It was fine though. Poseidon had other prayers to listen to.

_So I'm a married woman now._

...maybe Poseidon didn't like Paul after all.

 _Sorry, you don't want to hear about that,_ Sally continued. Poseidon sighed. He should be focusing on this war he was fighting. Oceanus planned on attacking Atlantis any day now and while he had made the necessary preparations there were still other things he should be doing. His people needed him. His family needed him. He couldn't be distracted-

 _I've just been trying to focus on the good things, you know? I spent everyday this summer just... looking at Percy. Knowing I might be running out of time to see his face,_ Sally's voice whispered and Poseidon felt his chest sink at the declaration. _You were one of those good things_ _once_ , she mused. _I never thanked you properly for him. Even if this is all the time I get... it would have been worth every second. He'll survive though. He has to._

Poseidon pursed his lips. Demigod children were hard. He rarely understood them. Sometimes he tried and sometimes he didn't bother. It was the same with their parents. Sometimes he genuinely connected with them and others a passing fancy. It felt as if both Perseus and Sally had decided to dig out anything akin to mortality in him and trap it.

_I know you don't want to hear this, but it's nice to see him get along with Paul. It feels right. Like... everything I ever wanted in one place. I don't mean that in a... husband and son getting along kind of way - even if that's what it is. I just mean that... I don't really know what I mean. All the important parts of my life together. You're included in that too, you know. Through Percy. I don't think I could have ever handled all of you, but the pieces you left me through him... are enough. They're more than enough. And Paul is the rest of my life. I see everything I wanted in a future next to him. No idea what the future is, but I really hope it's happy._

Poseidon smiled sadly. He hoped she got it. He hoped she was right about Perseus. That he lived. That he lived and kept living. Poseidon had given him the spiel of a hero's fate when they had first met, but Poseidon felt as if anyone could defy that... it would be Percy.

_But anyways, I really just wanted to wish you luck in this siege Percy was telling me about. I'm sure gods don't get scared or nervous, but... good luck.  
_

"Thank you," Poseidon murmured and someone cleared their throat behind him. He turned to find Triton already bowing - though Poseidon could see irritation hiding behind carefully placed features. "Triton," he greeted and righted himself. "Sorry for the distraction. I was... listening to a prayer." He explained. He waited for Triton to scowl and ask if it was Perseus. However, his son seemed to know it wasn't his brother because he only looked back at him silently.

"What's her name?" Triton finally asked and Poseidon almost jolted back in alarm. He lifted a questioning brow. "This mortal who has brought the ocean to its knees," he drawled out. "Who bore you the son you seem to think can do no wrong," he said with a dramatic wave of his hand. "There aren't many people who would distract you during a time of war... and I've never heard you respond to Perseus' prayers with 'thank you' as much as just general confusion," he snorted and shook his head. Poseidon pursed his lips and Triton waited. "Her name?"

Part of Poseidon wanted to say he wasn't so besotted as to be reduced to such words, but the other part of him was already answering.

"Sally."

"Sally," Triton repeated and dipped his head. Poseidon waited. There was something he wanted to say. Poseidon knew his son. He was quick-tempered and painfully honest at times. The war would quickly wear down any patience he tended to have - or restraint. Sure enough, after a few moments of very clear struggle, Triton spoke again. "If I may be so bold, father?" He asked. Oh boy. Poseidon nodded. "I believe mortals pray to gods. Not the other way around."

...he was glad Perseus and Triton didn't get along. If they did then his kingdom would be overthrown by the pair for sure.

* * *

“Leave.”

Sally didn’t even look up from cooking as she spoke the words. A soft sigh followed and Sally’s eyes darted up, a bit enraged at the audacity.

“Sally-”

“No,” she said and put the pan off the burner. “No, no, no. You can’t come in here and offer me _any_ explanation now. Not when my baby was missing for a _year_ and you said _nothing-”_

“I was… unwell,” he said and Sally bit her tongue before she said something that crossed the line. Instead she glared, jaw clenched as she tried to calm herself with the image of throttling him. “I’m sorry.”

"I prayed. I prayed and prayed and _prayed_ and you didn't give me any sign or a single word of acknowledgement!" She hissed and Poseidon winced.

"I didn't hear you," he admitted quietly. "I barely heard Perseus," he told her, but Sally didn't care. No, she did not care about that one bit. She had other things to say.

“He fought in one war already. Now he’s gone through _two_. What in the name of God – gods, whatever, kind of game is that?” She demanded. Poseidon said nothing. “He’s _seventeen_. He’s a child and he’s been to Hell. Literal _Hell_. I thought it would be years before he got over the nightmares and PTSD of the first one, but _boy_ did your family decide to up the stakes on me,” she said in disgust and felt her scars, still healing from Estelle’s birth, give a warning ache. Calm. She needed to be calm. Quickly, she put a hand over her stomach and took a deep breath.

“You’ve had your child,” Poseidon noted warily. “Congratulations.”

Sally narrowed her eyes.

“I don’t know what you want me to say. He’s a demigod. This is what his life consists of-”

“No, it doesn’t!” Sally said loudly. “It… it is so much more than fighting _your_ battles,” she told him fiercely before shaking her head. “And don’t act like you warned me. You told me he _could_ be the child of _a_ prophecy. Not two prophecies – or is there a third one now?” She asked. Poseidon sighed and looked away.

“I want better for him as well,” he said quietly. Sally wanted to laugh. Did he? After all this – _did he?_ Poseidon seemed perfectly content with Percy making him look good to the rest of the Olympians. She wasn’t blind. She knew her son had achieved feats beyond even the greatest heroes – and in the end… isn’t that what all gods wanted? “You don’t believe me,” Poseidon noted.

“Why should I?” Sally asked. “What indication have you given that you want him to have a long, happy life that entails doing anything beyond Olympus’ whims? I-” She said and was going to launch into a full tirade – not even caring that she berating an ancient deity - when someone cleared their throat.

“Hi, dad.”

Sally closed her eyes. Of course.

“Perseus,” Poseidon greeted, looking a little alarmed by Percy’s entrance. Had he not noticed? Interesting. Perhaps he really had been invested in their conversation. Not that it meant anything. Percy’s eyes flicked between them a few times before he slowly put down his bag.

“Um,” he began awkwardly and gave Poseidon a long look. “What do you need?” He asked and Sally _hated_ how defeated he sounded. Something about his tone must have resonated with Poseidon because his fingers twitched.

“Nothing,” he said quietly. “I don’t need anything. As I told you before."

Percy blinked at him a few times – clearly bewildered before giving a small nod.

“Oh... right," he said and then bit his lip. "I'll start praying more," he told Poseidon and Sally frowned. What? They must have had a conversation Sally didn't know about. Poseidon gave a soft smile. Percy returned it hesitantly and picked his bag back up. “Um, in that case… I’ll just… go do my homework…?” He said and turned to give Sally a baffled look. She smiled back tightly. He was trying to ask if she was okay. She gave a quick nod of reassurance and Percy slowly exited the room, giving a few glances over his shoulder as he went.

Poseidon grimaced.

“I should go. Your husband will be back soon.”

Why was that said like a jab? Like she shouldn’t get on with her life?

“Your wife is probably waiting for you,” she agreed politely. Poseidon fixed her with an irritated look. She smiled back. “Cookie?” She asked him, holding out the blue platter. Poseidon scoffed and picked the top one off.

“Is it poisoned?”

“It wouldn’t kill you if it was,” she said simply and then sighed. She was being unfair, wasn’t she? “I’m sorry,” she told him and then shook her head. “I… knew you were god when this all started. I just…” She looked in the direction Percy had gone. “I never knew it was possible to love someone so much until I held him. He deserves everything,” she said quietly. Poseidon smiled softly.

“You may not believe me… but I do agree.”

Sally stared. She did believe him. Maybe that was the hard part.

Percy’s head popped back in.

“Sorry, this is weird. What’s happening?” He asked. Sally laughed. She felt a little bad at how distressed he seemed, but for once it wasn’t the ‘weight of the world’ kind of distressed and instead the normal teenager kind.

“We’re talking about you,” she said and Percy’s brows came together. He looked over at Poseidon before fixing her with a mortified stare.

“…why?”

“I found some baby pictures-”

“Nevermind,” Percy decided and disappeared again. Then silently came back and grabbed the metal box where Sally kept all their pictures and wordlessly disappeared again. Poseidon snorted.

“Aren’t there some over there as well?” He asked loudly with a nod towards a second box. Sally wasn’t sure how he knew that, but didn’t ask because Percy had reappeared to grab that box as well, fixing them both with annoyed looks before leaving the room once more. “It’s too bad,” he told Sally. “I wouldn’t have minded seeing some of those.”

Sally shrugged.

“You’re welcome to them any time.”

Poseidon gave her a sparkling look before snapping his fingers. Immediately the two boxes appeared in front of him once more. From the other room, Sally heard Percy give an outraged yell.

“I better get going,” Poseidon told her and gave one last, unreadable look. “And I will do better.” He added. Sally didn’t bother to answer. She wouldn’t hold him to it – even if there was a certain sincerity to the words before he disappeared once more.

* * *

They were dancing. Poseidon watched from the window as the music flowed out of the apartment while Paul kept spinning Sally around - both laughing at their failed attempts to get the steps right. He wanted to be annoyed by the sight. Instead he just felt... resigned. He knew this was the best ending anyways. At the end of the day, Sally was mortal. She was living a happy, mortal, satisfying life. Her dreams fulfilled. Her family intact. Her heart still full of love.

Poseidon's own life - as vast and ever-changing as it was - would recover. In time. Perhaps this was the first step towards that.

"I don't remember praying for you."

Poseidon smiled a little. Sally had appeared on the fire escape. The shower was running - probably Paul. The song must have ended.

"You knew I was here?"

"You smell like Percy," she explained and leaned against the railing. "Except more..." she waved her hand. "Godly," she went with. Poseidon scoffed. "What are you doing here? Is Percy alright?" She asked, voice suddenly going taut. Poseidon nodded. He was in California according to his more recent prayer... and thinking about pencil erasers.

"I came to see you," he admitted. Sally looked at him for a long time. He could sense the tension rise. She probably thought he was here to try and seduce her again. "I brought you a gift," he added and Sally narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Poseidon laughed and reached into his pocket, pulling out a ballpoint pen. "Don't worry. Nothing too excessive. I believe I owe you a new one of these," he said. Even though Sally wasn't praying he could _hear_ her thoughts - remembering one of their very first conversations on a beach in Montauk as Sally clutched a notebook in one hand, unimpressed by Poseidon holding a pen out of reach.

_"Keep it if you want to be stubborn. That's my lucky pen. It always comes back to me."_

_"Oh? How funny. I have a sword that does the same."_

He wondered what her reaction had been when Percy had shown her the pen Riptide came in. It hadn't been much, but Poseidon hoped she appreciated the gesture. A subtle reassurance that as long as Percy had that lucky pen of hers he would return to her... and as long as he had Anaklusmos he might return to Poseidon.

Sally reached out and grabbed it, a smile playing at her lips.

"It only took you eighteen years."

"I may have been postponing this last meeting of ours," he admitted. Sally tilted her head. The question wasn't said, but it hung there. "My... my son pointed something out to me. I needs to be rectified," he murmured and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Mortals are supposed to pray to gods," he explained, voice growing quiet. Sally tilted her head. "And every time I hear your voice... I only wish I could pray back to you. It is... unbecoming."

Sally nodded slowly for a moment and then gently placed a hand on his wrist, pushing it away from her.

"Well, we can't have that, can we?" She asked softly. "So this is goodbye?"

"I believe it should be," he agreed. "I have enjoyed being your friend, Sally Jackson. I enjoyed the time when I was more than your friend too, but Perseus is old enough to pray to me himself now. I'm afraid I can't keep listening to yours... not that you ever speak to me much these days anyways," he added with a hint of haughtiness. Sally grinned. "You seem _preoccupied_ with this mortal of yours."

"You know, Paul has informed he knows photography too. I must have a type," she said lightly and Poseidon snorted. He was grateful she was making this easy. Then again, for her it would be. Mortal lives... They passed by so quickly. It allowed them the luxury of feeling things much faster. She had moved on from him long ago. Poseidon wondered how long she would stay with him. How long Percy would. Certainly well after their deaths. "Does Percy still pray to you then?" She asked. Poseidon chuckled.

"Yes, he does," he said and at the look on her face, smiled. "I'll be honest... I only understand about... half of what he says to me," he said and then tilted his head. "He's praying to me right now, actually." He said and Sally bit her lip to hide her smile.

"What's he saying?"

"Something about alligators," Poseidon nodded. "He's probably forgotten he's pra - oh, he's just remembered. He's apologizing. He's blaming his ADHD. He's asking why there isn't demigod specific medication to help with that and that would still let him fight - yeah, he's forgotten he's talking to me again," Poseidon nodded. Sally chuckled warmly, running her hand through her hair. 

"Consider yourself lucky that you have not had a dinner with Annabeth and Percy together. She's just as bad as him. I couldn't keep up with those two for the life of me," she said with only fondness radiating from her. Then sighed. "Well," she began and looked at him for a few seconds. "I enjoyed being your friend too," she said gently. "And thank you for keeping me company when I didn't have anyone while Percy was growing up. It will be strange not praying to you."

"It will be strange not hearing from you."

"Hm," Sally said and leaned over to kiss his cheek. "You didn't hear from me for thousands of years. I think you'll be okay for the next thousand," she promised. Poseidon smiled weakly. "Bye, Poseidon." She told him and turned back to the apartment. Poseidon didn't respond. He wasn't sure he could even if he wanted to. He was silent all the way back to Atlantis, mulling quietly until Amphitrite appeared beside him.

"Sally Jackson?" She asked because Amphitrite just knew everything. Poseidon hummed.

"I will not be receiving her prayers," he said easily and grabbed her hand. "I hope this pleases you."

"Poseidon," his wife scoffed. "Let us not pretend you did this for me," she said and Poseidon frowned. Well... not exactly, but he had hoped it would please her either way. Amphitrite looked at him thoughtfully. Poseidon really was lucky to have her. She had always been his perfect half. Collected and calm where he was temperamental and angry. Understanding where he was anything but. He loved her possibly more than anything else the world had to offer... which was why it was so confusing that he had been so fully taken in by Sally Jackson. “Want to know the difference?” Amphitrite asked because... as he said, she knew everything. Even his inner thoughts apparently. Poseidon tilted his head. “You saw me dance once and decided you wanted to marry me. Just like that.” she said with a snap of her fingers. “This mortal of yours was different. You spent the summer with her before actually doing anything. You've listened to her prayers long after. There were no words with us. With her there were only words.” 

There was a bittersweet pang at that. He went to reply, but was cut off by a prayer suddenly entering his mind.

 _Okay, I know we agreed the prayers need to stop and that is totally fine. I get that. Cool. Okay, but I've thought it over and_ _I'm letting you know right now that if Percy gets married or has children or anything like that then I'm praying because we are in that shit together. No other prayers aside from that though. Paul and I can both cry when he walks down the aisle, but you're his father so I'm dragging you and your fork down with us._

Poseidon sighed and put his forehead on Amphitrite's arm. His wife glanced at him and took a sip from the drink a servant brought her.

"...did she call your trident a fork again?" She asked. Poseidon nodded. "You should probably correct her," she said nonchalantly and Poseidon peered up at her. Amphitrite gave no other reaction other than taking another sip of her drink. 

Maybe he would answer just once more... after he figured out what Perseus was trying to tell him about coconut harvesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The one comment Sally made about Percy's name came from [this](https://ididntwanttobeahalfblood.tumblr.com/post/177322707554) by ididntwanttobeahalfblood.


End file.
